Four Dutch mosques close doors during prayer

Source: Xinhua   2017-01-30 23:28:17

THE HAGUE, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Four major mosques in the Hague, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht on Monday decided to provisionally close their doors during all joint prayer moments following an attack on a mosque in Quebec, Canada.

The mosque leaders held an emergency meeting on Monday after the attack in Quebec on Sunday when gunmen opened fire at a mosque, killing six people.

The mosques said in a common statement, "we feel obliged to close our mosques in the Netherlands during prayer."

The four mosques are the Blauwe Moskee (Blue Mosque) in Amsterdam, the Essalam Mosque in Rotterdam, the As-Soennah Mosque in The Hague and the Omar Al Farouk Mosque in Utrecht.

"The mosque is an open building that anyone can enter at any time of the day," the statement continued. "We therefore regret that we must take these rigorous security measures."

The closure measure of the four mosques has so far not been followed by others. The Dutch National Coordinator for Security and Counter-terrorism (NCTV) has been in contact with several mosques and Muslim organizations and issued a declaration to Xinhua stating there were currently no general measures needed to protect all mosques.

"The NCTV is alert to the security situation of mosques and consults regularly with mosques," the NCTV stated. "Security measures are always taken on the basis of threat and risk. At present, the NCTV recommends no additional general security. If necessary, locally appropriate measures are taken."

The terrorist threat level in the Netherlands has been "substantial", level 4 on a scale of 5, since March 2013. Level 4 means the chance of an attack in the Netherlands is real, but there are no specific indications that terrorists are preparing to carry out an attack.

Six were killed and several others injured when gunmen opened fire in the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Center during evening prayers on Sunday.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the shooting, calling it a "terrorist attack on Muslims."

Editor: yan
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Four Dutch mosques close doors during prayer

Source: Xinhua 2017-01-30 23:28:17

THE HAGUE, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Four major mosques in the Hague, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht on Monday decided to provisionally close their doors during all joint prayer moments following an attack on a mosque in Quebec, Canada.

The mosque leaders held an emergency meeting on Monday after the attack in Quebec on Sunday when gunmen opened fire at a mosque, killing six people.

The mosques said in a common statement, "we feel obliged to close our mosques in the Netherlands during prayer."

The four mosques are the Blauwe Moskee (Blue Mosque) in Amsterdam, the Essalam Mosque in Rotterdam, the As-Soennah Mosque in The Hague and the Omar Al Farouk Mosque in Utrecht.

"The mosque is an open building that anyone can enter at any time of the day," the statement continued. "We therefore regret that we must take these rigorous security measures."

The closure measure of the four mosques has so far not been followed by others. The Dutch National Coordinator for Security and Counter-terrorism (NCTV) has been in contact with several mosques and Muslim organizations and issued a declaration to Xinhua stating there were currently no general measures needed to protect all mosques.

"The NCTV is alert to the security situation of mosques and consults regularly with mosques," the NCTV stated. "Security measures are always taken on the basis of threat and risk. At present, the NCTV recommends no additional general security. If necessary, locally appropriate measures are taken."

The terrorist threat level in the Netherlands has been "substantial", level 4 on a scale of 5, since March 2013. Level 4 means the chance of an attack in the Netherlands is real, but there are no specific indications that terrorists are preparing to carry out an attack.

Six were killed and several others injured when gunmen opened fire in the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Center during evening prayers on Sunday.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the shooting, calling it a "terrorist attack on Muslims."

[Editor: huaxia]
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